NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS

Members of the Parish Council and Neighbourhood Plan Working group will be available to answer questions regarding the Draft Neighbourhood Plan on the following dates

Saturday March 24th. 12noon- 1pm. Following the Defibrillator training in the Village Hall, Court Lane.

Saturday 7th April. 12noon- 1pm. Following the Litter Pick. In the Village Hall, Court Lane.

Saturday 14th April. 10am - 12 noon. In the Church Room, Church Road during Community Shop open hours.

THANK YOU TO VILLAGERS WHO HELPED WITH THE LITTER PICK ON 7th APRIL

Around 20 villagers turned out to help with the April Litter Pick collecting approximately 25 bags of litter, plus old tyres, bike frames and car parts. The roadsides look better for it and a significant amount of environmental pollution has been prevented. As well as non-biodegradable waste, there were many beer and spirit bottles collected from roadsides. This has accumulated during the 6 months since the last litter pick in October 2017 and suggests that drink driving is common on our narrow rural roads.

UPDATE ON THE CROSS REPAIRS

Villagers will have noticed that The Cross has been badly damaged as the result of a car accident. Plans had already been made to repair the damage caused by previous collisions but another insurance claim is now underway. Stevington Parish Council intend that repairs will not be delayed by the new claim and that the summer months identified as best for the setting mortar will remain the target. However, some road modification is also planned to protect The Cross from any future damage. Bedford Borough Council Highways Department are involved and plan remedial work at the same time.

BEDFORD BOROUGH LOCAL PLAN 2035

Please note that the deadline for responses to the Bedford Borough Local Plan has been extended from 5th March 2018 to 5pm on the 29th March 2018. If you want to read the CPRE response to the Central Bedfordshire Plan, see the link below. Although it is a different area it may be useful to see the areas they comment on.

Following the installation of the new defibrillators at the Village Hall and the Baptist Hall in West End, there will be a free training session for all villagers on how to use them in an emergency. The last training session (following the installation of the first unit at the Cross) was very well received. It is simple when you know how but attending the training session will give you confidence, if you ever need to use it. All ages welcome. Email stevingtonpc@live.co.uk to check times.

STEVINGTON COMMUNITY LITTER PICK - SATURDAY 7TH APRIL 2018

The next Community Litter Pick is scheduled for Saturday 7th April and all are invited to come along and help. We meet at The Village Hall at 10am. There will be a short safety briefing and plan of campaign. All equipment is provided, such as high vis jackets in all sizes, gloves, tongs and bags. Full bags are collected from the roadside by cars and transported to the collection point. We are usually finished by 12 noon.

REPAIRS TO STEVINGTON CROSS UPDATE FEBRUARY 2018

Permission from both English Heritage and Bedford Borough Highways has been sought. It is hoped that the work, the cost of which will be largely covered by Parish Council insurance, will begin in Spring, as soon as the weather is suitable for the drying of the re-pointing. 'The Old House' building company has been appointed as the contractor for the work.

For those of you who may be interested in birds and bird watching, the 2017 programme for the local group of Bedford RSPB can be seen here.

PRIORITY SERVICES REGISTER TO PROVIDE EXTRA SUPPORT IN THE EVENT OF A POWER CUT

The Priority Services Register provides, free, extra support to those who need it during a power cut. If you think you, or someone you know needs extra support follow the link below to see if you qualify.

A new national power cut number (105) has been launched to help people contact the company that looks after their electricity network. This would be UK Power Networks for London, the East and South East of England.

The number, which is available to electricity customers in England, Scotland and Wales, will enable people to report or get information about power cuts as well as report damage to electricity power lines and substations that could put themselves, or someone else, in danger. 105 is funded and delivered by the electricity network operators, and is a first for the UK’s energy industry. As well as calling 105, people can find more information on the website: http://www.powercut105.com/

You, or someone you know, may be interested in the above Charity which seeks to assist young people, normally in the age range of 13 - 25 years old, who live in the Borough of Bedford, with grants for educational purposes such as the purchase of text books, equipment or special clothing needed in connection with a course. There is no deadline for applications as the programme runs throughout the year.

The Parish Council has been advised that Vincent Pargeter, who in 2001 designed the sails which are now on the windmill, died on Saturday 31st October. As a mark of respect, a volunteer who is part of a group of windmill enthusiasts, turned the sails and paused them in a traditional "mourning" position with the leading edge of a sail just beyond the vertical (so facing down).

LOCAL PLAN 2032

Bedford Borough Council has prepared a second consultation paper about the Bedford Borough Local Plan 2032 and would like your views. They are also inviting people to send to them details of any sites suitable for development that were not submitted during last year’s ‘Call for Sites’ and there is also an opportunity to comment on a methodology for selecting Local Green Spaces; a new designation permitted by the National Planning Policy Framework.

Please note that responses must be received by 5pm on 14th December 2015. All responses may be made public. To view the documents and further information on how to submit your views please follow this link http://www.bedford.gov.uk/localplan2032

The Local Plan timetable can be found in the Local Development Scheme - please follow this link www.bedford.gov.uk/lds

BROADBAND UPDATE

We are pleased to advise that Bedford Borough Council has confirmed that Phase 1 of the installation to supply superfast broadband to Stevington has been completed.

This means that those of you who are connected to the new cabinet near the Village Cross will soon, if you wish, be able to purchase superfast broadband from your supplier, so long as they provide a fibre connection. You can check your connection via the BT Broadband Checker.

The Parish Council has been advised that those not included in the current phase will be included in Phase 2 which will deliver superfast broadband in the third quarter of 2017.

CHIMNEY SAFETY

Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service have advised that in the past three years there have been 168 chimney fires across Bedfordshire. Find out here what you should do to keep safe.

NEIGHBOURHOOD PLAN

The Parish Council is in the early stages of preparing the Stevington Neighbourhood Plan which, when adopted, becomes a legal document within Planning legislation. The Neighbourhood Plan is a real and positive opportunity for the community to shape the future development of Stevington, particularly the use and development of land and buildings. Without a Neighbourhood Plan, we will have little influence over future development in Stevington. To find out more please visit the dedicated website which has been created at www.stevington.com

BEWARE - FRAUDSTERS TARGETING BEDFORDSHIRE

Bedfordshire police have warned against a scam being used by fraudsters which has cost of a number of people in the county their life savings. This is a national problem known as a "courier scam" which typically follows this pattern:

A fraudster will cold call you on a landline, claiming to be from your bank or the police. Often older people will be targeted. The “bank” or “police” will state their systems have spotted a fraudulent payment on your account, or your card is due to expire and needs to be replaced.

In order to reassure you that they are genuine, they suggest that you hang up and ring the bank/police back straight away. However, they don’t disconnect the call from the landline so that when you dial the real phone number for your bank or the police, you are actually still speaking to the fraudster.

They then ask you to read out your PIN or type it on your phone keypad. They may ask for details of other accounts you hold with the bank or financial service provider.

Finally, they send a courier to you to collect your bank card, or the cash that you will be withdrawing from the compromised accounts. The fraudster will have then obtained your name, address, full bank details, card and PIN

Banks do contact customers about potential security threats, but will never ask for your PIN number, or send a courier to your home, or collect your bank card. Neither will the police. If you receive a call like this, end it immediately and use a different phone such as your mobile or a neighbour’s phone to contact the police.

You can also report it to www.actionfraud.police.uk. Action Fraud also has a wealth of information about this and other scams, along with prevention tips and advice for victims.

BEFORD BOROUGH COUNCIL LOCAL PLAN TO 2032 - CALL FOR SITES

Earlier this year Bedford Borough Council carried out a consultation to seek views on the scope of a new Local Plan that will look ahead at development needs to 2032. As part of the exercise they asked for the details of possible development sites to be sent to them and since the close of the consultation they have been logging and recording information from the 350 or so sites that were submitted.

Details of the sites put forward are now available to view on the Borough Council’s web site. You can view the location of sites either by using the index map available (here) or by looking at the parish maps available (here). Details of the individual site submissions are organised by parish (here). You can cross reference the site information using the site reference number which appears on the maps and at the start of the site name.

It is important to note that while all sites submitted to the Council are available to view at the links above, not all will be allocated for development in the Local Plan. Sites will be selected once the development strategy and level of growth have been identified. They have been published so that local communities can see the sites the Borough Council has been asked to consider. The parish council would like to know your views on the proposals. Please follow the links above and send any comments you may have to our clerk atstevingtonpc@live.co.uk

The programme for the Local Plan 2032 was put in place to secure the new strategy as quickly as practicable. However, a number of external factors have come into play which now means that the published timetable will not be met. More detail can be found in the Local Plan May 2014 Update available on the Borough's site (www.bedford.gov.uk/localplan2032), which explains that they are not consulting on the submitted sites at the present time, but there will be a chance for people to comment on the sites that are chosen for inclusion in the plan at a later date. However, the delay to the plan’s timetable provides them with an early opportunity to ask for the parish council’s comments on the sites that have been submitted. They are interested in our views about whether the development proposals within our area would deliver community aspirations, in particular they are keen to understand how they may fit with any emerging neighbourhood plan, something the parish council is working on. We may also comment on proposed sites that are outside our area (e.g. Bromham and Oakley) but that may have an impact on it.

The Borough Council stress that whilst our comments are important and will be published as part of the evidence base for the plan, there will be other issues that also need to be taken into account when determining overall development levels in the borough and deciding the most appropriate location for development sites. In particular the Government requires them to meet what it calls ‘objectively assessed need’ and in doing so they must be able to show that they have complied with the new ‘duty to cooperate’. Again, there is more about this in the Local Plan May 2014 update. The parish council will be discussing this at their next meeting on 3rd September and would like to hear your views. Please submit any comments via our clerk at stevingtonpc@live.co.uk

BT TECHNICIAN HOAX CALL WARNING

Bedfordshire Police have been contacted by a local resident who very nearly became the victim of a telephone scam. A caller, claiming to be a BT technician reported issues to the resident with the broadband connection, suggesting there may be a fault with his computer. After a number of conversations the caller offered to fix the problems by remotely logging into the computer.

At the point where the caller asked for payment details the resident became suspicous and ended the call. Whilst the resident has not lost any money they have had to contact their bank, broadband supplier and get their computer checked. These callers are both persistent and convincing.

If you are called by anyone claiming to have information about your broadband or home computer remember the following.

Genuine BT staff do not recite account details over the phone.

Do not let a caller remotely access your computer - this may lead to personal data being captured.

Never give bank details to an unsolicited caller.

If you think that you have been a victim, run a virus scan, alert you bank and contact Action Fraud to report the scam. You can also telephone Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040.

SCAMS AWARENESS MONTH

Throughout May the Citizens Advice and the Trading Standards Institute are promoting an increased awareness of scams. They calculate that up to 4 million scams may take place each year as many go unreported. The following is their advice on dealing with scams:-

Top tips for dealing with scams:

If it sounds too good to be true it probably is.

Never give out your bank details or send money unless you are certain you can trust the person contacting you.

Contacted out of the blue? Be suspicious.

Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card, ask for your PIN or come to your home.

Make sure the website’s secure, if you are buying online – check for the padlock or “https” next to the web address

It you haven’t bought a ticket you can’t win it.

You shouldn’t have to pay anything to get a prize.

Pressure to make a decision straight away? Take your time and just say: “No thank you”.

Walk away from job ads that ask for money in advance.

Computer firms do not make unsolicited phone calls to help you fix your computer.

Don’t suffer in silence – tell others about scams.

To report fraud you can telephone 0300 123 2040. You can also visit the following for more advice

Following the village meeting on 15th February a survey was undertaken to establish which of the generic options was preferred. The results of the survey can be seen by clicking here.

RED LION - MINUTES OF THE VILLAGE MEETING

The minutes of the village meeting held on 15th February can be viewed by clicking here.

RED LION - VIABILITY REPORT FROM TAYLORS

The Parish Council have received a Viability and Valuation Report for the Red Lion public house from Taylors. The report can be downloaded by clicking here.

LORRIES USING SILVER STREET

Large vehicles are still accessing Stevington via Silver Street from the A428. The Parish Council is working on preventing this and would like your help. If you see an unsuitable vehicle using this route please take it's registration number and report it to us along with the date and time you saw it. If there is a company name on the vehicle that would also be helpful as we could contact them direct. You could take a photograph if you have a mobile phone with you. Please contact us at stevingtonpc@live.co.uk

Bottle Bank Please note that the bottle bank is sited in the farm entrance halfway up Court Lane. Our thanks go to Tony Kinns for making this site available. Please ensure that the bottle bank site is kept tidy. Please take away your bags, boxes and lids after depositing your bottles.

If the bottle bank is full, please check both sides first, then if you still can't use it, please take your bottles home and advise the clerk on at stevingtonpc@live.co.uk She will arrange replacement which normally happens within 48 hours. Please do NOT leave bags or boxes of empty bottle beside the bottlle bank.

The Stevington Village website, is run by Robert Eadie, on www.stevington.org.uk. Robert's intention is for this site to develop into a central point for village information linking to the other various village organisation websites and other sites of interest. This Parish Council website will remain the port of call for specific Parish Council information.

This News page is for the Parish Council to tell you about specific items of interest, and for you to add your own items of news.

If you wish to offer an article for inclusion, please contact the clerk, Tricia Lennie by email on stevingtonpc@live.co.uk